Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Cyclists as Drivers

I've been a cyclist most of my life. In fact, I was introduced to this wonderful way of travelling at least part of the world in May of 1954. Since then, I've ridden for pleasure, as well as to and from school and work most of my life.
I did get my first Driver's License in the spring of 1960, almost as soon as I could. However, it was not until the winter of 1965/6 that I got my first car - and even then, I continued to ride. It was as quick as the car - particularly when I had to park the car far out in the wilds of "C" Lot - the under-grad parking at the far end of campus, while my bike could roll right up to the classroom door.
I continued to ride, when my job moved into town, in 1979, as it allowed us to buy a house, and not have to worry about the extra money to support a car that would be used for only about 2000 miles a year -to and from work.
As I rode, I pondered, and still do, what it is that has made us so heartily disliked by motorists. 
Unfortunately, I confess that the fault, at least in part, is our own. No - I'm not one of those who believe all motorists are right, and cyclists are wrong. Had I been, I should never have continued to ride as I have. Nor, to be honest, have I ever felt I've been particularly targeted by drivers wherever I am. Instead, I've felt that I've always been able to ride in and with traffic - just one of the "guys", slower, perhaps, in peak speed (OK, a lot slower, for sure!) but not that much slower in over-all performance. 
So - What do I mean, when I say the fault is - at least in part - our own? Simply this: Driving is rather like dancing -we all have our own slight variant on a set of steps, but we also have to get along with, mesh with, our neighbours - the mother rushing to get kids between impossibly close connections - school to music or dance, and so forth; the salesman hustling to get one more call in, one more order in today; the tradesman, angry with the way his job's going, and wanting just to get as far away from it as he can; the professional driver - truck, bus, or taxi, trying to go his rounds as smoothly as he can. I'll let you think up similar, or other categories that are in the traffic mix. We all are trying to go somewhere, often more than just a little late (more fool us, for over booking ourselves), and we all need the others to co-operate with us to get there as fast as we can.
We know of the drivers who put their heads down, and ignore that yellow light, hoping they can get through just this intersection without stopping and waiting, like, forever! (Yeah, it WAS red, as he hit the line. Fortunately, lights now have a short blank space, where everything's red, to let him get safely through.) Along I come on my bike. The light is just as red, but I blithely ride through (There were no cars in the way, so it was OK.   - - NOT!) So I'm surprised, when somebody objects to my behaviour? 
Red Light and Stop Sign violations are among the most visible, and annoying ones we cyclists commit, but there are others, just as irksome, and sometimes far more dangerous to ourselves. Think of riding in the dusk without lights. ("Hey, man - chill out! I can see just fine. How am I hurting you? What's your silly beef, anyway?")  We'd never dream of this, in a car - well, that may not be so certain, in this day of ADL's. I've seen a number of folk drive off at night, with only the Daytime Lights on. What we do not realise, as cyclists, is that the laws about lights on bikes are not aimed at our being able to see the road. We're credited with enough sense to turn on or install enough lighting to actually see what we need to, if we do. No - the aim is at making ourselves visible to motorists out there. They are required to avoid us. It's not kosher to hit, mow down, or blast a cyclist off the face of the earth, BUT (and it's huge) in all fairness, we have to make ourselves visible - give the other side a fighting chance to avoid us. We also have to act in a predictable way - in other words, we have to use the same sort of moves, signals, and clues that other drivers use, to warn folk of what we intend to do, if it's not just carry on straight ahead.
Add to this the cultural bias (here in North America) that the bike is, really, "just a kid's toy", and therefore not safe to have out on the real roads, and we are in a bind.
Cycling is back in fashion - and, looking at the would-be racers, the guys who think they cannot ride, even to work in ten minutes, without elaborate preparation, and expensive, dedicated clothing, it IS a matter of fashion - and I, for one, rejoice. The more of us on the road, the more comfortable other drivers will be around us, and the less harassed we'll feel. Great - but we still need to earn the respect of the drivers around us. The only way we can do that, really, is to be the best drivers out there, ourselves. 
I've practiced this, myself, with increasing rigor, all my life. It seems to work. The gentle smiles I get, as I pant over the bars at a light, the grins I get as I crest a hill, and can give them a chance to pass me, the wave-around I get, when waiting for a left turn opportunity  - all these convince me I'm on the right track. When I add in the thumbs-up from a bus driver, who helped me give someone a chance to get out of a parking lot, or the shame-faced accolade I got one day: "I was following you up the street, and I must say, you were doing everything right!", I'm certain that I'm on to something. 
Do I only cycle? No - I do drive - and flattery suggests that I do so very well - and I've no intention to quit. There are things I do that I cannot easily do with a bike - carrying sheets of plywood or drywall, for example.
However, my best cycling practice has informed my driving, and I drive, aware of the others on the road, and give them the space I'd rather I was given. 
Back to topic, though. We want to ride, and want to feel comfortable. Unfortunately, our culture says we should be able to do so without work on our part - that it is really someone else's responsibility. Unfortunately, this was never so, and will never be so. I, and I alone, as the cyclist, am personally responsible for my own safety and comfort. If I'm not comfortable, what is it I need to do to get there? Do I need more practise? Then, ride, and keep riding. Is there something I'm doing that seems to put me in harm's way? Do I regularly get hooked or pinched at corners? What do I need to do to change that? Do I need to make myself more visible? Then do so - don't wait for someone else to do it for me! How can I get other drivers to let me make that left turn? Oh, signal? Far enough in advance that they have a chance to react, and let me move? What a concept!
You can see where this line is leading - back to driver's school. We need to apply everything we know about driving in traffic in a car to cycling. I find that there is a great deal that crosses over completely. I know the car uses an outside source of power - so does the motorbike. However, there's really little difference, when one cuts to the nub, between the two - apart from the amount of physical exercise I put into my riding!

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